‘Money draining out': Woman says I-66 express lanes cost her more than $100 round trip

A News4 viewer says she’s been paying more than $100 round trip on the Interstate 66 express lanes, adding to some drivers’ concerns about sky-high tolls in the D.C. region.

On Wednesday, News4 reported that tolls on the I-66 express lanes outside the Beltway in Northern Virginia soared as high as $30, $60 and even $80 for the longest trips at peak times this week.

After our story aired, Karen from Gainesville reached out to News4

“This is our lived experience, and it’s really expensive – and it’s just money draining out,” she said.

Karen said she regularly uses the express lanes to take her husband to doctor appointments in Fairfax. One morning this month, an eastbound trip cost $74 to go 22 miles, she said. Her return trip an hour later was $29.

“So our round-trip cost was $103,” she said.

Karen said she wants to use the lanes because they’re more predictable and less crowded. She said she knows she will pay for that convenience, but her biggest complaint is that you can’t price out the full trip from the signage along the road.

“The cost of each express segment is shown on the overhead signs. But you can’t add it up in real time. You don’t know how much it’s going to cost you until you look at the billing later.”

Drivers can price out a trip online before using the lanes. But even those prices could change by the time you hit the road.

And with dynamic pricing, the higher prices are intended to discourage drivers from using the lanes to keep traffic moving.

“Is that really fair pricing? Is that what we agreed to when we went into this idea of having express lanes?” Karen said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) told News4 that some of the toll revenue helps fund transit services along the I-66 corridor.

Drivers can use the lanes for free if they have three or more people in their car.